LJ is almost 3 months

Lance has discovered his hands!

LJ has discovered his hands.  He looks like he is praying a lot of the time, but mostly he is just grabbing his own hands and then stuffing them into his mouth.  This also means that he can sort of grab things and kind of bring them to his mouth to try and figure out what they are.  It is a new adventure.

I noticed recently during bath time that he has a dark patch on his butt.  It looks like a big bruise, which seemed odd since he's pretty much always enjoyed soft, fluffy comfort.  I asked Charity and she explained that it is probably "mongolian spots" (http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/baby-care/baby-skin-care/mongolian-spots.aspx) Apparently they are common in babies of color.  So now you know, all of my mixed baby-mamas!  It is just a pigment variation that usually disappears after a year.  He also has what could be a birthmark on his leg, though it may just be another spot.

I've started playing volleyball on Mondays and the mom guilt is intense.  Lance does NOT enjoy my being gone in the evenings and he shows his indignation with hours of screaming, which the babysitters (grandma, grandpa, uncles, aunts and daddy) do not find helpful or fun.  He won't take the bottle, he won't sleep, he can't be distracted or consoled.  The minute I come home and hold him, he is perfectly content.  Unfortunately, I thought evenings would be a great time for me to get away.  After all, Leighton would be home to take care of Lance and I could get out and have a life.  Now that I've signed up to play volleyball and teach 2 nights a week, I've discovered that this is the worst time to try and get away.  Evening= mama time.

When I discovered that my poor son was suffering each evening that I left him, I turned to my best friend Yolanda.  She texted, "being a mom is so hard!  you are doing a great job and have a very happy little man".  It made me realize that not enough people praise mamas.  There is so much judgement, advice, personal stories, and not enough plain old empathy and recognition.  So many of my friends are pregnant or have just had babies and we're all amateurs.  My new mantra: remember to listen and praise those new moms, acknowledge and empathize.  It's a big scary job and I want to hear that I'm making reasonable choices that will work out in the end.

Emma, Lucy and Nana, smiling extra big to try to get Lance to smile...Hilarious!

Speaking of new moms, two of Lucy's new mom friends opened my life to a new world of sleep.  The problem has been that Lance Julian has an uncanny ability to escape out of any swaddle.  We instantly rejected using a regular blanket; even the pros couldn't keep him swaddled.  But even the velcro swaddles aren't strong enough to hold him in (our little Houdini).  Brilliance of all brilliance--the double swaddle!  First, we swaddle him in a blanket, then we place that whole baby burrito* into a velcro swaddle.  We tried it and he slept for 4 hours!  Now it is our nightly habit and he is regularly sleeping 5 hour stretches.  It is amazing!

Our most exciting news is that Uncle Karl and Aunt Yuki are having a baby girl in February!  The cousins will only be 8 months apart and will get to grow up together.  And the new parents will be living with old pros.

*Since he is Filipino and so skinny, we decided that instead of calling him the baby burrito, he really is a baby lumpia when he is all swaddled.

Eva and Justin came over to meet Lance and make us brunch.

My TBS colleagues finally meet Lance.  Tanya enjoys el bebe.

I'm telling you, LJ fully stands with just a little balancing hold.  So strong.